Sergeant Massacre

"So far, at least, the US army hasn’t released the name or many details about the staff sergeant who slaughtered sixteen Afghans, including nine children, in Panjwai on Sunday. But here’s my own theory: first, he came from a troubled military base where officials had improperly downgraded soldiers who’d been designated as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sent 300 of them back to war; and second, the soldier in question, 38 years old, joined the army eleven years ago at age twenty-seven. Pure speculation: was Sergeant Massacre one of those PTSD-sufferers sent back to fight after three tours in Iraq?" (03/13/12)